Monday, September 21, 2015

A little colour in life

And now for something completely different...

About 15 years ago when the Olympics were on in Sydney the railway authorities required freight operators to add horsepower to their trains in order to enable the trains to be moved even if one of the locos failed en route. This was the start of the exotic influx for me - locos from Victoria, South Australia and eventually WA all ended up in Sydney. It hasn't really stopped since.

It took this following photograph, or at least the bus ride home from Rozelle after taking it at dusk on a gloomy December evening in 2000, to get me thinking (more of that in a minute).  So here is the photograph - L251 in ATN Access livery, 845 in its AN livery, B74 in the hue worn by all locos of the Victorian Railways, B80 in Murraylander (hinting at a Union Pacific heritage) and then L270 also in ATN Access maroon and gold.


One train, five locos,three classes, and not a NSWGR loco among them, with Sydney's Centrepoint Tower in the background.

Around the same time a series of emails in the Ausloco Yahoo group ran through the locos and the liveries they wore.  I think, from memory Chris Walters who had penned many of the names of the liveries.  So I set myself a task - to keep a score of the liveries I saw and the locos wearing them.


I restricted recording my sightings to public railway standard gauge operations within a day's drive of Sydney - Bomaderry, Wagga Wagga, Parkes/Dubbo, Werris Creek and Coffs Habour.  I have been pretty careful about the definition of ‘a sighting’.  Usually it meant seeing- more recently I have mellowed to include photographs or videos by mates.   I deliberately excluded heritage steam locomotives and rail tractors, as well as private rail systems such as those operating at Bluescope at Port Kembla or in mines.

Even so, after 15 years I have tallied 114 liveries worn by 66 different classes of loco - for a total of 256 combinations.  

I appreciate everyone is going to have a different definition of where a colour or design variation stops and a new livery starts.  This is not meant to be the last word in liveries - just one privateer's personal obsession becoming public.

Anyway, for those still reading - here's my list of the 114 liveries and a total of the loco classes which have worn them.
Livery/Class Total Classes
1950 CR Maroon/Silver 1
1952 VR Blue & Yellow 2
1955 NSWR Indian Red 14
1979 NSW PTC Reverse Tuscan 5
1980 NSW 125 Years Green (amended) 1
1981 SRA Candy 8
1983 AN Green & Yellow 7
1983 V/Line Orange 1
1985 RTM Modified Maroon 1
1985 RTM Modified NSW Green 1
1988 Southern Cross Green/Cream 1
1988 SRA Red Terror 3
1989 SRA Green Frog 2
1989 SRA Marlborough 1
1990 BHP Light Blue 2
1990 FreightRail Blue 14
1991 Countrylink Blue 2
1991 FreightRail Light Blue 1
1993 AN Silver & Green 1
1993 SRA Austerity Blue 1
1994 GNRS Maroon & Red 2
1994 LVR Indian Red/Yellow 1
1994 NRC Grey & Orange 2
1994 NRC Seatrain Blue 1
1994 NRC SteelLink Grey 2
1994 NRC Trailerail Green 1
1995 Cargill Yellow & Black 1
1995 Manildra Blue & Yellow 2
1995 NRC Indigenous 1
1996 Austrac Maroon/Silver 3
1996 SR Yellow & Blue v2 2
1996 SR48 Yellow & Blue v1 1
1997 NRR Blue & Orange 4
1998 ARG Orange & Black 6
1998 CFCLA Elliptical Blue/Silver 13
1998 SR Yellow & Blue v3 5
1998 XP Olympic 1
1999 FV Green 1
1999 LVRF Green/White/Yellow 1
1999 NRC Charcoal/Marigold 4
1999 RSA Blue/Green 1
1999 RTM Modified Candy 1
2000 3801 Ltd Black/Red 1
2000 3801 Ltd Tuscan/Cream 1
2000 ACT ARHS Tuscan/Russet 1
2000 ATN Maroon & Gold 1
2000 CRT Light Blue 1
2000 EDI Royal Blue 1
2000 FA Green 6
2000 Murraylander Yellow 1
2000 Federation Orange 1
2001 AN Green Modified for FA 1
2001 Central Park Purple/White 1
2001 LVRF Castrol Grey 1
2001 LVRF Green/White 1
2001 R&H Transport Red/White 2
2001 RIC Butter Menthol 1
2002 CFCLA All Maroon 1
2002 CFCLA Blue/Yellow Whiskers 1
2002 CFCLA Green/Yellow Whiskers 1
2002 CFCLA Straight Blue/Silver 1
2002 LVRF Strawberry & Custard 1
2002 RTS All Blue 2
2003 PN Ghan Red 2
2003 PN Blue Cab 1
2003 PN Gold Cab 11
2003 ARG Dark Blue 1
2004 Patricks Big Red 4
2004 South Spur Two Blues 2
2004 SSR Yellow/Black 10
2005  PN Indian Pacific Blue 1
2005 Countrylink Blue 1
2005 QRN Ochre/Black 8
2008 CFCLA All Blue 2
2006 Danish Red/Black 1
2006 IRA Silver 2
2007 PN Southern Cross 2
2007 ARG All Orange 1
2007 Allco Blue & Yellow 1
2007 Auscision Orange/Silver 1
2008 LVR Modified Red Terror 1
2006 SCT Black, Red & White 3
2008 HVRT Silver/Yellow 1
2008 Coote Green/Yellow 7
2008 PN Southern Spirit Green 1
2008 El Zorro Orange/Grey 2
2008 EDI Blue & White 2
2008 ARG Yellow/Maroon 1
2007 PN Lifesaver 1
2010 Graincorp Sky Blue 1
2010 Whitehaven Blue/White 1
2010 Railpower Black 1
2010 Xstrata Grey/Blue & Yellow 1
2010 Freightliner Gold/Green 2
2010 QUBE Silver/Yelllow 4
2010 QRN Sun Yellow 4
2011 Weipa Orange 1
2010 RTM Royal Blue 1
2011 IP Yellow 1
2012 SSR Green/Yellow 1
2012 JRW Maroon/White 1
2012 QUBE Grey/Yelllow 1
2012 CRL Yellow, Red & Black 2
2012 Bradken Blue/White 1
2013 Black Caviar Salmon/Black 1
2013 NRE Gold/ Blue 1
2013 JHCRN White/Red 1
2014 SSR Yellow/Black 1
2014 MRL Red/Grey 1
2014 PN Revised IP Blue/Gold 1
2014 FIE Red White & Blue 1
2015 SSR IP Black/Yellow 1
2015 CFCLA/Freightliner mashup 1
2015 Regional Connect Green/Grey 1

Enough of this, I have a 15 year old spreadsheet to tend to!

Ciao for now,
Don

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